Can team racing events get it together?

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
As much as I admire team racing, I have a certain disdain for the event organizers. It’s nothing personal, and they are not fully to blame. World Sailing is complicit, as they are the authority on everything. Plus general ignorance is a contributing factor.

My problem? Inconsistency in event names.

The High School racing calendar lists the Team Race National Championship, but its NOR calls it the Team Racing National Championship. Then, the College racing calendar lists the Team Racing National Championship, but its NOR calls it the Team Race National Championship. Go figure.

Being accurate in Scuttlebutt is hard when events can’t get it right.

The International Optimist Class has both Team Race and Team Racing Championships. The Club 420 Association promotes the National Jr. Team Race Championship but the NOR calls it the National Jr. Team Racing Championship.

There is the US Team Racing Championship and the famed Wilson Trophy, which is the British Open Team Racing Championship, but there is also the Global Team Race Regatta.

The 2025 Team Racing World Championship (though the URL calls it the Team Race World Championship) will be hosted by New York Yacht Club, which itself has four annual team racing events on its calendar – Morgan Cup Team Race, Hinman Masters Team Race, NYYC Grandmasters Team Race, and the NYYC Great Grandmasters Team Race.

Our sport is powered by the wind, but too often is managed by it too.